World-renowned popstar, Shawn Mendes, brings some warmth to this winter with his newest album, “Wonder.”

Mendes first embarked on his musical journey in 2012 when he began posting covers of popular songs to YouTube and the then trending social media app, Vine. Mendes’ videos began to gain some recognition when he was discovered in late 2013, signing with Island Records in mid 2014.

In 2014, Mendes released his first single, “Life of the Party,” at age 16, being the youngest person to debut in the top 25 of US Billboard 100.

The popular single was followed by the release of his first studio album, “Handwritten,” in April 2015. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with his third single from the album, “Stitches,” receiving the most attention.

After Mendes’s first album received much love, the artist released one of his hit singles, “Treat You Better,” in 2016, alluding to the idea of a hot new album. Mendes did nothing short of delivering that.

The Candian singer released his second album, “Illuminate” on September 23, 2016. Having debuted at number one again on the Billboard 200 chart, the album was later certified platinum. 

In 2017, Mendes released hit single, “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back,” becoming the first artist under 20 years old to have three number-one songs on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart.

Fans were lapping up all the music Mendes was releasing, and were surely not disappointed with the release of his third album, being the artists most well known album. 

“Shawn Mendes,” the artists third studio album, was released on May 25, 2018 with leading hit singles, “In My Blood” and “Lost in Japan.” The album again debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart making Mendes the third-youngest artist to collect three number-one albums.

The probability of hearing one of the album’s hit singles, “Señorita” with Camila Cabello, are high, as the song has surpassed a billion stream on Spotify in the past year. The single was a delight to fans as many were excited to see the collaboration again after the duo’s hit single “I Know What You Did Last Summer” in 2015.

Having released three studio albums in under four years, the world was content with their dose of Shawn Mendes, and even more content with the announcement of a fourth album.

On September 30, 2020, Mendes announced that his fourth studio album was to be released December 4, following the release of the single “Wonder,” becoming the seen savior of 2020.

The album’s lead single, along with the music video, was released October 2, enticing many fans. The song goes on to tell a story of one pondering life, as most have been doing during this Coronacation.

“I wonder, if I’m being real,” Mendes sings. “Do I speak my truth or do I filter how I feel?”

Throughout the song, the artist goes on wondering and questioning certain aspects of his life, being relatable to most listeners. This is the perfect song to dance around the house and scream your heart out to.

The anticipation for the album was dreadful after the release of “Wonder,” but the collaboration with Justin Bieber made matters more enticing.

On November 20, the artist released the ninth track on the upcoming album, “Monster,” with former popstar, now R&B artist, Justin Bieber. The song takes a fun energetic beat, whilst having a deeper meaning within the lyrics. 

“I’ll take responsibility for everything I’ve done,” sings Bieber. “Holding it against me like you’re the holy one.”

The artists are alike in a sense as they both had been put under the world’s microscope at such a young age, and were unable to make normal teenage mistakes without the world turning against them, viewing them as the “Monster.”

Further promotion for the album came in the form of a documentary, “Shawn Mendes In Wonder,” released to Netflix on November 23, 2020.

The album follows the artist on his latest tour in 2019 for his self titled album. It goes through some of the struggles he faced with the loss of his voice, his relationships with his friends and family, and his inspiration, fellow popstar and girlfriend, Camila Cabello.

After what felt like an eternity, it was finally December 4, and fans lost their minds over the newest album. 

The 14 track album goes through a rollercoaster of emotion. One moment you’re bobbing your head and singing your heart out and the next you’re sitting there pondering life as the serene and emotional track goes on. 

Mendes preaches his love for some of the most important people in his life through his writing, first up being his fans.

The album’s third track, “Higher,” is an ode to the artist’s loyal followers as he travelled the world on tour last year. 

“As long as we’re together, no, I can’t get much higher,” Mendes sings. “No I can’t get much higher, let’s stay like this forever.”

The artist sings of how life couldn’t get any better while he is on touring the world, feeling the love from his masses of loyal fans. Similar to the reference in his thirteenth track of the album, “Look Up to the Stars,” he sings of how he’s reached his peak, but it continues to get “Higher.” 

“Call My Friends,” the album’s sixth track, is written for the artist’s friends. Mendes sees that his childhood friends are the ones who keep him down to Earth and sane. 

“Right now I’m alone inside the airport and you’re all at the bar in our hometown,” Mendes sings. “Feels like we’ve been living different lives.”

The artist relays how although he is grateful for his mass amount of success, especially at such a young age, he misses out on a lot of normal 22 year old activities with his hometown friends. 

Along with writing for people in his life, Mendes owes most of his songs to his greatest inspiration. The album’s fourth track, “24 hours,” is one of the many songs Mendes wrote for his long time girlfriend, Camila Cabello.

“I heard that once a wise man said,” Mendes sings. “Only fools go rushing in.”

With these lyrics, the artist references the king himself, Elvis Presley, in his classic song “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” The song goes through how Mendes hopes to spend the rest of his life with Cabello.

“I don’t think I’ll be able write songs that really do it justice, that can really capture the things and the feelings with her,” Mendes said.

In the artist’s documentary, he relays how all the songs he’s written have been about her, including hit singles “Treat You Better” and “If I Can’t Have You.” He sees her as his largest inspiration and yet he is still unable to write of how he really feels about her.

Overall, “Wonder” is an 11/10 hit.  The album goes through a range of emotions, making it the perfect album to blast in the car with windows rolled down as you’re driving along the coast. The songs make listeners question aspects of their life that could use some improvement.

The artist attacks emotions that are indescribable, yet somehow most of his fans relate to, and he is able to put them into a song, adding an extra bit of soul to the album. 

“I’m writing about anxiety more as a companion I have to live with and less of an enemy that I’m trying to resist,” Mendes states. 

Anxiety plays a big role in the lyrics of the majority of the album, anxiety within relationships, as well as in one’s self. With this aspect, Mendes writes the perfect album for the ongoing stay at home order, having fans “Wonder” about certain aspects in their own lives.